


One Who Would Seize Glory

by Sharyrazade



Series: Kindred Spirits [10]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Tales of Series, Tales of Symphonia, Tales of the Abyss
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Casual Discussions of Mass Murder, Crack Treated Seriously, Crossover, Dark Crack, Dimension Travel, During Canon, Gen, Human Experimentation, Mad Science, Mentors, Pre-Canon, Unhealthy Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-26
Updated: 2019-12-26
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:40:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21978988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sharyrazade/pseuds/Sharyrazade
Summary: She'd no way of verifying it, true- she'd never had much of a head for foreign languages, especially ancient ones- but in some ancient tongue of the Empire, "Edelgard" apparently translates to "One Who Would Seize Glory." Hm, how very appropriate, she thought.
Relationships: Luke fon Fabre/Tear Grants, Minor or Background Relationship(s), No Romantic Relationship(s)
Series: Kindred Spirits [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/821988





	One Who Would Seize Glory

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Why Has This Not Been Done Yet?](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14800134) by [Sharyrazade](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sharyrazade/pseuds/Sharyrazade). 
  * Inspired by [Oh, Those Brunettes Of Ours!](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13340370) by [Sharyrazade](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sharyrazade/pseuds/Sharyrazade). 



> Early on, I'd seriously considered doing this with Daenerys Targaryen. But really, given that if you're going by the books, a certain someone is literally more Daenerys Targaryen-looking than Emilia Clarke, decided there was no point given the obvious intention of the character designers and writers.

The empire and its architects- just like everywhere else in the world- loved their architectural marvels. Then again, the workplace of the acquaintance of his to whom Hubert had introduced her was rather...odd. Not least of which was the fact that the gargantuan facility was apparently located at the bottom of the ocean. How exactly does one have a "ranch" on the seafloor, she wondered. In fact, Edelgard had been tempted to dismiss the scenery some rather impressive visual effects until the ranch's security troops rather forcefully ushered her away from the tubing. Granted, her host was somewhat...disturbing- what with his greasy, slicked-backed purple hair and wicked, beady eyes scarcely disguised by his shades- but a threat to her was the very last thing he was. And he had been so hospitable as to give her the grand tour of the facility! How could she not reciprocate his generosity? It was a fascinating experience, particularly once they reached the main warehouse where the subjects were being worked.

"And this is where we work the host bodies to develop their Exspheres." introduced Rodyle, pride apparent in his simpering, nasally voice. "The amount of mana transferred from host body to Exsphere must be just enough to nurture it, but not enough to kill the host body- for now, at least."

Largely ignoring the sinister giggle the ranch's master had at the expense of the captive, Edelgard, while only really understanding a good half of the technical jargon, was fascinated nonetheless. "So you say these Exspheres enhance the human body well beyond its natural limits?" she inquired.

"Oh, yes, of course! And one need not even use them on people, either. All manner of machinery can be powered by them as well."

"Hmm, if the imperial army possessed these Exspheres..."

Tempting as the possibility was, Edelgard had to think better of it. As per Hubert's warnings, their presence in a world not their own was a delicate thing, possibly creating all manner of complications. Bringing back artifacts, especially ones as technically complex as these Exspheres and putting them into use, could ultimately result in catastrophe. Then again, how difficult could some rough equivalent be to manufacture? And the treatment (to which she was privy anyway) did not honestly strike her as much different than the trainees of the army received.

"I must thank you for your generosity, Lord Rodyle." remarked Edelgard, placing the space between her thumb and index finger to her forehead. "But I'm afraid I must decline your offer."

"Oh, think nothing of it!" began Rodyle with a smirk. "It is just so...refreshing to see a young lady like yourself take such an interest in science and technology."

"If it's at all possible, I would like to see some of your findings regarding the host bodies. I'll need all the aid I can get disposing of some old fossils who lack the sense or decency to give up power to the new generation."

Knowing he had, at long last, encountered a kindred spirit, Rodyle's beady eyes lit up with malice. "Of course, I understand completely!"

For all of his diplomatic prowess, Forcystus was still fond of saying that there was really only one good type of human. He had never been so inflexible himself, Rodyle thought. He could definitely admit to himself that present company, as far as humans were concerned, was one of the good ones. Driven, ambitious, and proud with a mind like a steel trap, it was little wonder Rodyle found himself fascinated by the Hresvelg princess. Hell, her being a human notwithstanding, she would actually be attractive were she not so damned old.

* * *

If bidding farewell to the ranch and bifurcated world was interesting, the utterly-white void where Edelgard had located herself was more bizarre than anything. Even with Hubert's (from whom she was now clearly separated) warning that anything could potentially happen, it was still a disconcerting place to find oneself, to say the very least.

Suddenly, a ghostly voice assaulted her eardrums. _"I beg your aid, child!"_ the ambiguously-gendered voice pled. _"The One Who Would Seize Glory is attempting to imprison me. The consequences for this world would be catastrophic!"_

While not inclined to answer in the affirmative, the entreaty bought back an interesting tidbit of information dredged up by her right hand. She'd no way of verifying it, true- she'd never had much of a head for foreign languages, especially ancient ones- but in some ancient tongue of the Empire, "Edelgard" apparently translates to "One Who Would Seize Glory." Hm, how very appropriate, she thought.

_"Please! I beseech you-"_

The spirit's voice was interrupted by yet another sensation which the princess had no exact words to describe- if one could describe her line of sight being filled by a somehow even-more-overwhelming sense of brightness with words. However, when she was able to get her bearings, Edelgard noticed this time that this was no void of endless white. Judging by the marble roof upon which she now stood and the great pillars in the distance, she'd determined it to be a temple of some sort. But the better question was _where_?

"H-Hubert? W-what is this place?" she inquired, not seriously expecting (but still hoping) for a response of some sort.

"An echo. An echo of a glorious land allowed to fall to ruin by corrupt cowards and sycophants. But an echo that will live once more."

Far different from Hubert's low, almost-serpentine voice, the deep, booming voice was revealed to belong to another man as Edelgard turned around. Rising from his seated position, the man, towering well over her, was easily distinguishable by his ornate set of armor and very prominent eyebrows. "To be precise, it is a vision of mine." he revealed. "In reality, we are in the Planet Storm- at the core of a world doomed by the sloth of mankind."

In spite of her detour and his most unexpected appearance, for Edelgard, even though the man's visage might be seen as rather off-putting, she felt completely at ease for some reason or another. "A doomed world?" she repeated. "That sounds rather...dire."

"That would be an understatement. If this world continues on its present course, it will inevitably perish. And what is the worst of all? That those with the power to change it gleefully walk along this path, so long as their own wealth and station are secure. And the people themselves? Nothing more than cattle to the slaughter. They may as well be in the grave already."

Edelgard's expression abruptly turned steely, bordering on hateful. "Oh, yes, I sympathize with your plight a great deal. My- where I come from- has the very same problem as your world."

At this, her kindred spirit's eyes lit up with a rather dark twinkle. "So you've come to accept that there is no saving your land as is?" he inquired. "That its only salvation will be built on its ashes?"

"I've known and accepted that for years now. With revolution comes sacrifice. I am fully prepared to step across a sea of corpses in order to see my new world realized. This path I must walk...is one of fire and blood and I make no apology for that."

"Eloquently put. There are those who'd fight tooth and nail to preserve the old world, even when it means their eventual destruction."

The man scratched at his rather prominent beard, as if somehow still unsure of his new acquaintance's conviction. "And what of those who not only reject your vision, but turn their talents toward stopping it?" he inquired, a hint of subconscious disgust in his expression as he breached the topic. "Or even worse, those led astray by someone...or _something_ that should have never been in the first place? Even if you call them blood? Or even closer?"

"If they cannot be convinced to desist," Edelgard answered firmly. "they will have to either yield or be destroyed. No matter who they may be."

"Young lady, I daresay you have what it takes to realize your world. I believe in your conviction completely. If only everyone could see the world as clearly as you do, most of its problems would not exist."

"I could say the same to you, sir. A lot of people talk about wanting to change the world. Almost none of them have the stomach to do what needs to be done to change it."

With this conversation concluding, one of the portals they'd earlier utilized materialized behind Edelgard. "It was very illuminating to speak with you." she complimented. "But now I fear I must be off."

"I see." the man conceded. "Fare thee well, Mystearica."

"Hm? What did you call me?"

"I apologize. You just reminded me of someone. My new guest seems to be playing a game at my expense."

**Author's Note:**

> In the course of Edelgard's Motive Rant during her C+ support with Byleth, I was all "Wait a second, I feel like I've heard this before" before she got to the whole human-experimentation-on-a-child part. Then I was all "so when's this girl going to start talking about the Score being a drug and the world needing strong medicine?" It started as just me being a smart-ass, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that she and Master Badtouch are mostly on the same wavelength, just in difference of degree.
> 
> And it's not an original comparison to me. To my knowledge, the first to make it was LostCipher999 through Bernadetta. The similar age, precocious station for that age, and their "fuck this, burn it all down and rebuild it from the ground up, casualties be damned" ethos, I could play down, since there are a lot of characters fitting those descriptions. And the duplicity, I also could because this is the sort of game where no one tells Byleth shit about him/herself. However, how many of them also have:
> 
> \- Been involved in a...unique student-teacher dynamic? And a pretty unprofessional one, at that?  
> \- Been highly involved in the technical development of some crime against nature as a part of their master plan? And makes a mortal enemy out of another participant with weird eyes in said mad science?  
> \- Are the direct descendant of some highly-honored figure in their world involved with the in-universe religion, only to make it their life's mission to destroy said religion?  
> \- Have some involvement in a plot-relevant vocal song that plays over the credits?  
> \- Have a sibling of the opposite sex at some point willing to try to talk them down, but completely ready and willing to put them down if it comes to that?  
> \- An unwavering right-hand of the opposite sex who's pretty obviously carrying a torch for them to the audience and observant characters?  
> \- A minion who could accurately be called a flamboyantly-dressed mad scientist who is also clearly carrying at torch for ~~a sociopath with altered eyes~~ his childhood friend?  
> \- (For a lot of people, anyway) A minion/conspirator who's technically a green-haired clone/artificial human of some sort, very magically powerful, and somehow relevant to the in-universe religion?  
> \- Another conspirator who figures into the in-universe religion, is a magic swordsman/woman, and can/does turn against them to their dismay?  
> \- Another minion/enforcer who's a semi-suicidal old warrior known as the (Color adjective) Lion? Whose fight has something to do with fire and brimstone?  
> \- Another minion/general being an unassertive young woman with an Italian given name and severely unstable home life?  
> \- Strings along a deformed, semi-maniacal zealot as long as they're useful to their plan; certainly intends to do away with them shortly too?
> 
> Which of them exactly am I referring to? Granted, I have Hubert doing double duty as both Legretta and Dist and Byleth as Sync and Asch, but even then? It's still hitting all the Six God-Generals. Granted, Lysithea as Jade may be something of a stretch, but they hit so many of the same points, I've stopped regarding it as a coincidence. I am firmly convinced that the Tales and FE series must have at least SOME character designers/writers in common. Especially Xillia and Xillia 2.
> 
> Anyway, as far as the other Tales villain, a lot of people like to compare a certain (hot) pope to another figure of religious authority in that series. I never denied that the (one of) the means and motives were Yggdrasilean on her part for one second. Hell, in addition to Palutena, she's almost identical to the elder Yggdrasil sibling. But this comparison kinda leaves out the part about creating an Age of Lifeless Beings that (as pointed out by someone else who would also be absolutely horrified and disgusted by Edie's methods) necessarily requires an at least 50-plus percent casualty rate to manufacture the MacGuffins alone. And if Edelgard is obsessed with overthrowing her and gaining power, as far as this comparison is concerned, she doesn't really come out looking much better, since she also, like Rodyle:
> 
> \- Is willing to do a LOT of shady, if not outright evil stuff to get that power  
> \- Is pretty interpersonally exploitative with those she doesn't see as "worthy," outside of her inner circle, like Rodyle with his tribe. And even then, he was pretty exploitative with Magnius  
> \- Is better than most at the cloak-and-dagger intrigues but not as awesome as it as she likes to think  
> \- When cornered, willing to accept the power to destroy her enemies in exchange for her humanity. Or at least accept turning into a monster as a not-zero possibility in exchange for that power.
> 
> I guess it's like with the Kill la Kill fandom shitposting about the Pokemon similarities then actually getting G-rated Ragyo in Lusamine a few years later.


End file.
